VDOT News - Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Over the past few years, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has converted a number of its left turn traffic signals to flashing yellow arrow (FYA) traffic signals, as they have been found to better convey the intended message for left turning traffic.  A new type of FYA will be installed in Rustburg in the coming weeks.

To date, FYA traffic signal installations in the Lynchburg District have exclusively been 4-section FYA signal heads, which, from the top section to bottom section, consist of a steady red arrow, a steady yellow arrow, a flashing yellow arrow, and a steady green arrow.  However, VDOT is now planning to install 3-section FYA signal heads at the intersection of Campbell Highway/Barracks Lane, U.S. 501 and Village Highway, state route 24 in the Town of Rustburg in Campbell County in the coming weeks to control the left turn movements on VA 24.  The decision to use 3-section FYA signal heads is due to a vertical clearance limitation that does not permit the use of the standard 4-section FYA signal heads.

VDOT has already installed 3-section FYA signal heads at other locations in neighboring districts due to similar limitations, such as along the Brambleton Avenue, U.S 221 corridor in Roanoke and the Lee Highway, U.S. 11 corridor in Lexington.

A 3-section FYA signal head consists of a steady red arrow in the top section, a steady yellow arrow in the middle section, and a dual-arrow bimodal display for a flashing yellow arrow and steady green arrow in the bottom section.  As with a 4-section FYA signal head, the flashing yellow arrow is only displayed for the permissive left-turn movement and the green arrow is only displayed for the protected left turn movement.  The 3-section FYA signal heads will operate in the same manner as the 4-section FYA signal head, with the exception that the signal indications for permissive and protected left turn movements will be displayed from the same section of the traffic signal rather than two separate sections.

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